Federally Administered Tribal Areas

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan, located along the mountainous border with Afghanistan. The tribal areas were created to grant autonomy to the Pashtun tribes along the border, with almost everyone in the region being Muslim. The region consists of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions, and the region has been known for its high terrorist presence, with Taliban, al-Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and other terrorist groups creating bases in the region. The Taliban enjoyed popularity in the region due to the high Pashtun population, and the location of FATA allowed for jihadist insurgents to cross the border into Afghanistan, launch attacks, and fall back to Pakistan. The Pakistani government's efforts to combat terrorism, even with United States assistance, had limited success, and the Pakistani government was even accused of collusion with the insurgents at times. In 2011, FATA was home to 4,452,913 people.